US20070158365A1

US20070158365A1 - Rubber liquid spray lid having embedded pumping device

Info

Publication number: US20070158365A1
Application number: US11/382,181
Authority: US
Inventors: Kil-Soo Kim
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-01-11
Filing date: 2006-05-08
Publication date: 2007-07-12
Also published as: KR100701499B1

Abstract

Disclosed is a rubber liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device comprising a rubber lid serving as a pushing member and having a plurality of first air inlet holes and a pumping force generation variable space therein, a first valve received in a first valve groove formed in the rubber lid for allowing liquid in the pumping force generation variable space to be sprayed outside, and a middle valve connected to the first valve and installed in a center portion of a lower part of the rubber lid for allowing liquid in a liquid vessel to be transferred from the liquid vessel to the pumping force generation variable space and for preventing the liquid in the pumping force generation variable space from flowing back into the liquid vessel, wherein the middle valve comprises a connecting and fixing part connected to a first end of a pipe having a second end dipped in liquid in the liquid vessel, a cover part provided to the circumferential outer surface of the connecting and fixing part, and a stepped platform having a plurality of second air inlet holes connected to the first air inlet holes and an elevated portion for providing a second valve installation groove therein, so that a second valve is installed in the second valve installation groove.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rubber liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a rubber liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device for spraying liquid when pumping pressure is applied thereto, the rubber liquid spray lid being capable of being easily manufactured in a relatively short time at low cost because a lid thereof and a valve installed in the lid have a simple structure that can be made through an extrusion method, having an optimum spray distance, seldom breaking when it is accidentally dropped by a user because it is made of a material that is flexible and has amorphous characteristic, being capable of preventing the lifespan of liquid from decreasing because it is made of a material containing an antioxidant, that is, it can prevent liquids such as polymers, petroleum products, oils, soaps, etc. from being oxidized, and having high reliability and quality because cutting-lines serving as spray nozzles are formed simultaneously and uniformly through an extrusion method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, liquid containers for holding liquid such as cosmetics therein are classified into general vessels and spray-lid-equipped vessels. The spray-lid-equipped vessel comprises a vessel for holding liquid therein and a liquid spray lid integrated with a pumping device that enables liquid such as a cosmetic held in the vessel to be sprayed through a nozzle formed in a lid when a user pushes the top of the lid.
The lid integrated with a pumping device into a single body generally comprising a nozzle cap installed at the top of a liquid vessel, a nozzle button installed on the top of the nozzle cap, a cylinder installed under the nozzle cap, an upper plunger and a lower plunger installed to penetrate the nozzle cap, a spring installed in the cylinder and a ball combined with the spring.
However, the conventional liquid spray lid combined with a pumping device has a very complicated structure, so that it takes a long time to manufacture and is expensive, thereby imposing economical burdens on manufacturers and customers.
Further, before liquid in a vessel is sprayed outside, the liquid must enter the cylinder first. Accordingly, while the liquid is present in the cylinder, the liquid is in contact with a metal spring, so that the liquid is deteriorated by metal ions generated from the metal spring, and rust components in the metal spring cause harm to user's health.
For the above-described reason, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a variety of liquid-spray lids integrated with a pumping device has been developed.
Among such recently developed liquid-spray lids, one exemplary liquid spray lid has been developed by the applicant of the present invention. The exemplary liquid spray lid having a pumping device comprises a first valve installed at an opening of a liquid vessel that contains liquid therein, for allowing the liquid in the liquid vessel to be discharged out of the liquid vessel and for preventing the liquid from flowing back into the liquid vessel, a pressurizing unit which is made of a flexible material and forms a pressurizing space outside the first valve, and a second valve installed in the pressurizing unit for allowing liquid in the pressurizing space to be discharged out of the pressurizing space and allowing liquid to be introduced into the pressurizing space.
Either one of the first and second valves is curved and extends outside the lid, and further has a projection with a cutting-line serving as a nozzle. The projection is made of a flexible material so that the cutting-line serving as a nozzle is elastically opened and closed.
The above-described lid having an embedded pumping device has advantages in that it can be relatively easily manufactured because it has a relatively simple structure. The above-described lid has a further advantage in that it can effectively supply and spray liquid by using the first and second valves. However, it still has disadvantages encountered when using the conventional liquid spray lid even though it has a relatively improved pumping ability. That is, since it still uses a metal spring, the liquid is deteriorated after the lid has been used for a long time, and rust components in the metal spring cause harm to a user's health.
Further, since the cutting lines (nozzles) of the first and second valves for supplying and spraying liquid are made after the features of the first and second valves are formed, there is no consistency between the amounts of supplied and sprayed liquid, so that the reliability and quality of the liquid spray lid is not good.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a rubber liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device for spraying liquid when pumping pressure is applied thereto, the rubber liquid spray lid being capable of being easily manufactured in a relatively short time at low cost because a lid and a valve installed in the lid have a simple structure that can be made through an extrusion method, having an optimum spray distance, seldom breaking when it is accidentally dropped by a user because it is made of a material that is flexible and has an elastic structure, being capable of preventing the lifespan of liquid from decreasing because it is made of a material containing an antioxidant, that is, it can prevent a liquid such as polymers, petroleum products, oils, soaps, etc. from oxidizing, and having high reliability and quality because cutting-lines serving as spray nozzles are simultaneously and uniformly formed through an extrusion method.
In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rubber liquid spray lid, comprising a lid, serving as a pushing member, having a first valve installation groove for receiving and fixing a first valve therein, formed on an outer circumferential surface thereof, a coupling hole connected to the first valve installation groove and formed in a center portion of a lower part thereof for enabling the lid to be fixed to an opening of a liquid vessel, a pumping force generation variable space formed in a center portion thereof for easily generating a pumping force needed to spray liquid, and a plurality of first air inlet holes formed along the circumferential edge of a lower end part thereof for allowing external air to be introduced thereinto; a first valve fixed in the first valve installation groove of the lid, having a spray hole at a front end thereof, through which liquid transferred from the liquid vessel is sprayed because the spray hole is elastically opened and closed when pumping pressure is applied to the top of the lid, and having a protrusion at a rear end thereof for enabling the first valve to be securely fixed to the first groove; and a middle valve installed to be connected to the coupling hole formed in the lid, and comprised of a connecting and fixing part coupled to a first end of a pipe vertically disposed in the liquid vessel and having a second end dipped in liquid in the liquid vessel, for transferring liquid held in the vessel to the lid during pumping, a cover provided to the outer circumferential surface of the connecting and fixing part for preventing the liquid from leaking from the liquid vessel, the cover and the connecting and fixing part being integrated into a single body, and a stepped platform installed above and coupled to the cover and comprised of a flat portion having a plurality of second air inlet holes connected to the first air inlet holes so that external air can be introduced into the lid during pumping, and an elevated portion provided on the flat portion, the elevated portion being inserted into and fixed in the coupling hole and providing a second valve installation groove inside thereof, and a second valve installed in the second valve installation groove defined by the elevated portion of the stepped platform, the second valve allowing the liquid to be transferred from the liquid vessel to the pumping force generation variable space and preventing the liquid in the pumping force generation variable space from flowing back into the liquid vessel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a rubber liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a rubber liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device according to the embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a rubber liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device according to the embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a spray nozzle, which is a main part of the rubber liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping unit according to the embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a spray nozzle, which is a main part of the rubber liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device according to the embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6A through FIG. 6F are plan views illustrating a variety of exemplary spray nozzles of rubber liquid spray lids according to the embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating the operation of the rubber liquid spray lid according to the embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Advantages and features of the present invention and methods of accomplishing the same may be understood more readily with reference to the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the present invention will only be defined by the appended claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.
Now, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a rubber liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a rubber liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device according to the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a rubber liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device according to the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a spray nozzle, which is a main part of the rubber liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device according to the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a spray nozzle, which is a main part of the rubber liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6A through FIG. 6F are plan views illustrating a variety of exemplary spray nozzles in rubber liquid spray lids according to the embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to FIGS. 1 through 6F, a liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device according to the present invention is provided on the top of a liquid vessel 30. The liquid spray lid comprises a rubber lid 10 serving as a pushing member. The rubber lid 10 has a first valve installation groove 11 for receiving a first valve 20 a therein. A coupling hole 12 for coupling the rubber lid 10 to the liquid vessel 30 is formed in a center portion of a lower part of the rubber lid 10, and is connected to the first valve groove 12. The rubber lid 10 has a pumping force generation variable space 13 in a center portion of a middle portion thereof, the pumping force generation variable space 13 helping easily generate a pumping force when pumping pressure for spraying liquid is applied to the rubber lid 10. The rubber lid 10 has a plurality of first air inlet holes 14 at a lower end part thereof for allowing external air to be introduced into the rubber lid so that pumping can be easily performed while pumping pressure is applied to the rubber lid 10.
The first valve 20 a is fixed in the first valve installation groove 11 of the rubber lid 10. The first valve 20 a has a spray nozzle 21 a at its front end for spraying liquid transferred from the liquid vessel 30 when pumping pressure is applied to the rubber lid. The first valve 20 a has protrusions 22 a on the outer circumferential surface at its rear end portion, so that the first valve 20 a can be securely fixed to the first valve installation groove 11.
A middle valve 40 is installed to be connected to the coupling hole 12 in the rubber lid 10. The middle valve 40 includes a connecting and fixing part 43 coupled to the first end of a pipe 41 such that it is fixed to the outer circumferential surface of the first end of the pipe 41. The pipe 41 is vertically disposed in the liquid vessel 30 and has a second end dipped in liquid in the liquid vessel 30 for transferring the liquid held in the liquid vessel 30 to the rubber lid 10 during pumping, a cover 42 fixed to the outer circumferential surface of the connecting and fixing part 43 for preventing the liquid in the liquid vessel 30 from leaking, the cover 42 and the connecting and fixing part 43 being integrated into a single body, and a stepped platform 47 installed above the cover 42 and coupled to the cover 42. The stepped platform 47 has a disc-shaped flat portion having a plurality of second air inlet holes 46 connected to the first air inlet holes 14 so that external air can be introduced into the rubber lid 10 during pumping via the first and second air inlet holes 14 and 46. The stepped platform 47 further has an elevated portion 45 on the flat portion. The elevated portion 45 can be inserted into and fixed in the coupling hole 12. The elevated portion 45 has a second valve installation groove 44 inside it for receiving a second valve 20 b therein. The second valve 20 b is installed in the second valve installation groove 44 for allowing the liquid to be transferred from the liquid vessel 30 to the pumping force generation variable space 13 in the rubber lid 10, and prevents the liquid in the pumping force generation variable space 13 from flowing back into the liquid vessel 30.
The rubber lid 10, the first and second valves 20 a and 20 b, and the middle valve 40 connected to the rubber lid 10 are made of a flexible material comprising 41.6% natural resin, 29.13% paraffin, 0.12% antioxidant, 16.65% synthetic rubber, and 12.49% polypropylene, and are made through an extrusion method.
The operation and advantages of the present invention will be described below.
FIG. 7 illustrates the operational state of the rubber liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 7, the liquid spray lid according to the present invention sprays liquid from a liquid vessel when a user lightly pushes the top of the rubber lid 10.
If a user pushes the top of the rubber lid 10 once, the center of the rubber lid 10 is depressed by the pushing force, and is then restored to its original shape. When the rubber lid 10 is restored to its original shape, a pumping force is generated in the pumping force generation variable space 13 provided in the center of the rubber lid 10.
Further, while the depressed rubber lid 10 is restored, external air is introduced into the rubber lid 10 through the first air inlet holes 14 connected to the second air inlet holes 46 provided in the stepped platform 47 of the middle valve 40. Accordingly, restoration of the lid 10 can progress smoothly, while helping generate the pumping force.
The pumping force generated in the above-described manner increases the inner pressure in the liquid vessel 30 holding the liquid therein.
As the inner pressure of the liquid vessel 30 increases, the liquid in the liquid vessel 30 comes to be sprayed outside via the pipe 41 connected to the middle valve 40, the second valve 20 b, the pumping force generation variable space 13, and the first valve 20 a.
Accordingly, the liquid spray lid according to the present invention not only has the same or equivalent ability and function as the conventional liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device, which sprays a predetermined amount of liquid from a liquid vessel through a nozzle when a pushing force is applied to a push button, i.e. a lid, but also has a relatively simple structure. Due to such reason, the liquid spray lid according to the present invention can be easily manufactured in a short time and at low cost. That is, since the liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device can be manufactured at low cost due to the simple structure, manufacturers and consumers thereof can enjoy economical benefits.
Further, since all of the elements of the liquid spray lid according to the present invention are made of a flexible amorphous rubber containing an antioxidant, the liquid spray lid according to the present invention is able to prevent a liquid such as polymer, petroleum products, oils, soaps etc., which are apt to be easily oxidized, from being oxidized. As a result, the liquid spray lid according to the present invention prevents the lifespan of a liquid product from decreasing.
The rubber lid 10, the first valve 20 a, the second valve 20 b and the middle valve 40 are made of a material having the composition shown in Table 1 and are manufactured through an extrusion method.

TABLE 1

Content

Substance PHR WT %

Natural Resin 50.00 41.61

Paraffin 35.00 29.13

Antioxidant 0.15 0.12

Synthetic Rubber 20.00 16.65

Polypropylene 15.00 12.49

Total 120.15 100.00
Natural resin, i.e. base resin, is a general resin present in nature. Natural resin is not a single substance, but may contain a plurality of substances. Natural resin can be obtained during a petroleum refining process. Each of the rubber lid 10 (pushing member), the first nozzle 20, and the second nozzle 30 contains 41.61% natural resin.
Paraffin oil is contained in heavy oil, and is obtained by cooling heavy oil to generate precipitates and filtering the heavy oil with precipitates while applying pressure thereto. Each of the rubber lid 10 (pushing member), the first nozzle 20 and the second nozzle 30 contains 29.13% paraffin oil.
The antioxidant is an additive for preventing oxidation. Each of the rubber lid 10 (pushing member), the first nozzle 20 and the second nozzle 30 contains 0.12% antioxidant.
The synthetic rubber is styrene butadiene rubber, and is made by copolymerizing styrene and butadiene. The rubber lid 10 (pushing member), the first nozzle 20 and the second nozzle 30 contain 16.65% synthetic rubber.
The polypropylene can be extrusion-molded, and can be made to have a variety of colors, or can be transparent. The rubber lid 10 (pushing member), the first nozzle 20 and the second 10 nozzle 30 have 12.49% polypropylene.
As described above, each of the rubber lid 10 (pushing member), the first nozzle 20, and the second nozzle 30 comprises natural resin, paraffin, antioxidant, synthetic rubber and polypropylene. Accordingly, the liquid spray lid according to the present invention has amorphous crystal structure and greater flexibility than the conventional liquid spray lid having a metal spring because it is made of material containing natural resin, and can prevent oxidation of a liquid such as polymer, petroleum products, oils, soaps, etc. because the lid is made of a material containing antioxidant. Further, since the lid is made of a material containing polypropylene, the liquid spray lid according to the present invention can be made to have a variety of colors, or can be transparent.
Further, since the liquid spray lid according to the present invention is made of a material containing the above-mentioned substances, hazardous substances that can cause harm to a user's health can be prevented from being added to liquid after use for a long time. Still further, because nozzles, i.e. cutting lines, of the first valve 20 a and the second valve 20 b are formed during an extrusion process, the liquid spray lid according to the present invention has reliability and quality.
Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6F, the shapes of the first valve 20 a and the second valve 20 b may be diversely modified.
The shapes of the first and second valves 20 a and 20 b vary according to the kinds of liquid held in the liquid vessel 30. That is, the shapes of the first and second valves 20 a and 20 b are selected to optimally spray the liquid in the liquid vessel 30.
The above-described liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device according to the present invention has the following advantages. First, the liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device for spraying a liquid using a pumping force generated when a pumping pressure is applied comprises a rubber lid and valves installed in and connected to the rubber lid, the rubber lid and the valves having a simple structure that can be made through an extrusion method. Further, the liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device according to the present invention has a structure that can provide an optimized spraying distance. Still further, the liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device according to the present invention is made of a flexible rubber. Accordingly, the liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device according to the present invention can be easily manufactured in a relatively short time at low cost. Further, the liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device according to the present invention does not break when it is accidentally dropped by a user because it is made of a flexible amorphous material. Still further, since the liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device according to the present invention is made of a material containing an antioxidant, it does not decrease the given lifespan of liquid such as polymer, petroleum products, oils, soaps etc., because it prevents oxidation of the liquid. Yet still further, because the liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device according to the present invention is made through an extrusion method, and because the cutting lines (nozzles) of the first and second valves are formed during the extrusion process, the reliability and product quality of the liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device according to the present invention are guaranteed.
While the present invention has been shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims. Therefore, it is to be understood that the above-described embodiments have been provided only in a descriptive sense and are not to be construed as placing any limitation on the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A liquid spray lid having an embedded pumping device to be installed on a liquid vessel for spraying a predetermined amount of liquid held in the liquid vessel when pumping pressure is applied to a pushing member thereof, comprising:

a lid, serving as a pushing member, having a first valve installation groove for receiving and fixing a first valve therein, on an outer circumferential surface thereof, a coupling hole 12 connected to the first valve installation groove and formed in a center portion of a lower part thereof for enabling the lid to be fixed onto a liquid vessel, a pumping force generation variable space formed in a center portion thereof for enabling easy generation of a pumping force needed to spray liquid, and a plurality of first air inlet holes along a circumferential edge of a lower end part thereof for allowing external air to be introduced thereinto;

a first valve fixed in the first valve installation groove of the lid, having a spray hole at a front end thereof, through which liquid transferred from the liquid vessel is sprayed because the spray hole is elastically opened and closed when pumping pressure is applied to the top of the lid, and having a protrusion at a rear end portion thereof for enabling the first valve to be securely fixed to the first valve installation groove; and

a middle valve installed to be connected to the coupling hole formed in the lid, and comprised of a connecting and fixing part coupled to a pipe such that the connecting and fixing part is fixed to an outer circumferential surface of a first end of a pipe vertically disposed in the liquid vessel and having a second end immersed in liquid in the liquid vessel for transferring the liquid held in the liquid vessel to the lid during pumping, a cover fixed to an outer circumferential surface of the connecting and fixing part for preventing the liquid in the liquid vessel from leaking, the cover and the connecting and fixing part being integrated into a single body, and a stepped platform installed above and connected to the cover and comprised of a flat portion having a plurality of second air inlet holes connected to the first air inlet holes so that external air can be introduced into the lid during pumping, and an elevated portion provided on the flat portion, the elevated portion being able to be inserted into and fixed in the coupling hole and having a second valve installation groove therein for receiving a second valve therein, and the second valve being installed in the second valve installation groove for allowing the liquid to be transferred from the liquid vessel to the pumping force generation variable space and for preventing liquid in the pumping force generation variable space from flowing back into the liquid vessel.

2. The rubber liquid spray lid according to claim 1, wherein the first valve, the second valve, and the middle valve are made of a flexible rubber comprising 41.61% natural resin, 29.13% paraffin, 0.12% antioxidant, 16.65% synthetic rubber, and 12.49% polypropylene, and are made through an extrusion method.